Henri Hooft defends Israel Adesanya against criticism for recent lukewarm performances inside the octagon

Renowned striking coach Henri Hooft defended Israel Adesanya from critics who claimed that the UFC middleweight champion is a "boring" fighter to watch.

Adesanya is slowly building his resume as the greatest middleweight in UFC history after defending his belt five times. However, 'The Last Stylebender' received backlash as fans felt underwhelmed by his past few performances.

As far as striking whiz Hooft is concerned, however, Adesanya is merely doing what's necessary to secure the victory. He also pointed out that champions have to deal with an immense amount of pressure, which is why it's unfair to criticize Adesanya's cautious approach.

During an episode of Beyond the Fight, Chael Sonnen played a clip of Hooft breaking down the upcoming Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira title bout. In the video, the striking trainer said:

"There's a lot of pressure on you when you're the champion. You always need to prove to everybody why you're the champion. So I see some people hating on fights that sometimes are not too spectacular. But it's important for a fighter to know how to win fights. Israel knows how to do that."

Check out Henri Hooft's take on Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira:

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Israel Adesanya reveals what excites him for his fight against Alex Pereira

UFC middleweight kingpin Israel Adesanya recently revealed why his upcoming title fight against Alex Pereira excites him much more than most of his previous matchups.

While speaking with Jake Paul about his upcoming main event bout at UFC 281, 'The Last Stylebender' claimed that he can't wait to dominate 'Poatan' in the same way he did with his previous opponents:

"No matter what you do in life, there's always the element of fear, and a lot of people fold under that pressure, and this for me, this is why I thrive... The last few fights for me, I knew I was going to sass these guys, I knew I was gonna waste them... He's [Alex Pereira] not gonna try and survive, he's gonna try and come forward and take me out. That's what excites me, that's what I thrive in. I need that pressure, especially under the big lights, MSG, the whole world watching."

Check out Israel Adesanya's comments below:

In kickboxing, Pereira has beaten Adesanya in their previous couple of meetings. However, UFC 281 will be the first time they will fight under MMA rules.